FOSS Hack has been a 2 day event, but there have been discussions on making it a month long to move to better outcomes, starting FOSSHack 2026. For reference, see @rahulporuri note on FOSSHack 2025 in the Internal Annual Report.
Hardware projects are a huge challenge for a 2 day hackathon. With a month long window, we can now think of involving hardware. Of course, various types of hardware could be built in a month. Also - just like in software - meaningful outcomes could be achieved by folks contributing to existing projects.
Unlike software, hardware projects (e.g. electronics) involve cost - which is a barrier. Through the hackathon, we could people who build useful open hardware.
The ecosystem for this is being built by others - folks like Lion Circuits and PcbCupid (had a community booth at IF 25). They are spending a reasonable effort organizing hackathons and other initiatives (e.g. local and faster lower cost PCB manufacturing and assembly services). We could build collaborations with such folks and see where this goes. @rahulporuri thoughts ?
@Shree_Kumar That’s definitely something we can work on! I’d love to collaborate more on building open-source hardware.
Thanks for mentioning the timeline, I really hope this evolves into a hackathon or contest similar to the one hosted by Hackster.io or another popular platform.
I’ll do my best to get both Lioncircuit and Pcbcupid involved in FOSSHack 2026.
This is a fantastic idea - we could prepare really interactive projects that are engaging for software folks to engage with open-source hardware
Between us, we have keyboards, lamps, installations, dynamic sculptures and various DIY projects that anyone could bite into if we have enough time to plan for them!
I’ve been following the discussion and thought I’d add my two cents. I’ve run a few hardware hackathons before and have been planning to host one at Absurd, so here are some things I’ve learned that might be useful if we’re thinking about doing something similar for FOSS Hack. From experience, the main issues tend to revolve around four things:
duration, access to hardware, skill and experience gaps, and tooling or workspace logistics.
Duration
A month-long hackathon sounds great on paper, but in practice I think it’s too long for continuous engagement. At the same time, a two-day or weekend hackathon is too short to produce anything beyond simple prototypes. I think the sweet spot is a 10–14 day format. It aligns well with the natural rhythm of hardware development:
Design and planning (idea, circuit, BOM, CAD)
Procurement and assembly (ordering, waiting, soldering, fixing)
Integration and debugging (firmware, testing, iteration)
This duration gives enough breathing room for real-world issues like shipping delays or hardware failures. I imagine this as an open-theme 10–14 day hackathon that ends with a Maker Faire style demo day, where participants who can make it in person showcase their projects.
Access to Hardware
This is probably the biggest issue. Equal access to parts keeps things fair, but it also limits creativity. Total freedom allows ambitious builds but can create inequality between students and professionals. To balance fairness and creativity, we can do something like having a “Core Kit + Token Store + Open BOM”
Base Kit (provided to all): Everyone gets a foundational kit with say a microcontroller, breadboard, sensors this way everyone starts on equal footing.
Token Credit (for expansion): Each team gets virtual credit (₹1500–₹2000) to redeem parts from a curated online store or partner vendor (like PCBCupid, Robu, etc).
Open Add-ons Allowed: Teams can still bring their own parts, 3D prints, or recycled components as long as they document them transparently in their Bill of Materials (BOM).
Judging Focus: Reward clever use of resources like “innovation per rupee,” “integration complexity,” and “documentation clarity” etc instead of raw part value.
This ensures fairness while still leaving room for creativity. Everyone starts equal but can scale up intelligently.
Skill and Experience Gap
Hardware hackathons attract a very mixed crowd some have never soldered before, others are experienced engineers. Without structure, beginners can feel lost and experts disengaged. We can handle this by:
• Offering optional beginner/intermediate/advanced tracks
• Running pre-hack (even during the hack) workshops (e.g., intro to ESP32, CAD, firmware basics)
• Having mentors dedicated to helping teams get unstuck
This keeps the event inclusive, educational, and productive for all levels.
Tooling and Workspace Logistics
Hardware needs physical tools soldering irons, power supplies, 3D printers, multimeters, etc. Not everyone has access to these. One idea is to partner with manufactures (Lions Circuit, PCBCupid etc) or local communities like Absurd Industries (and others in the community) to ensure participants have access to at least a baseline set of tools. If the hackathon spans 10–14 days or even longer, we could host non-mandatory weekly meetups where teams can come in, use the tools, and collaborate in person in specific venues. At Absurd, we already run regular maker meetups where people drop by to our labs to prototype or work on projects. Extending that model to the hackathon makes it community-driven and accessible.
Lastly, when you’re talking about contributing to existing hardware projects, the dynamic changes quite a bit. Depending on the project, you might need a particular development board, a sensor module, or even a specialized toolchain to make progress. And that’s where it gets tricky because realistically, there’s only so much FOSS United (or any organizer) can do to bridge that gap. At best, we can showcase a few open hardware projects, connect people to the right maintainers or documentation, and point them toward communities or vendors that can help. But beyond that, if a project needs specialized hardware to even get started, it’s hard to make participation equally accessible for everyone.
All things considered, I think this is a great idea and would love to help make it happen @Shree_Kumar sir.
@Balu_B you’ve put in a lot of depth and breadth. Before I dive that deep let me zoom out a bit.
One thing about FOSSHack is not going to change I think - it will remain primarily an online event.
Given that this is an online event, how can we get more communities involved ? Makerville of course comes to mind - but I am sure there are others. Tagging @anool_mahidharia for input.
But some things will likely change - e.g. the idea of “localhost”. With a 2 day hack we had physical spaces accommodating local people to build an atmosphere - the concept of localhost. With the extended duration, what’s the impact on localhost… In the case of hardware it may make sense to have communities like Absurd having things either at the end or as a “side event” - running in parallel or just after the end of the hack ? @Amit_G
Also - what should be the goals of FOSSHack on the open hardware side of things ? Getting beginners into hardware seems to be too a steep a curve to tackle - and is probably not a goal. I am not ruling out providing kits etc - those could come from the collaborations if it makes sense to them - not from FOSS United. I am of course in favour of our communities like Absurd doing something inclusive here - e.g. let’s make our 3D printers or places/expertise available to more people (many ideas mentioned by Balu - those are valuable) - but many of them are local initiatives, and we will have limited capacity of replicating them (ref: online nature of FOSSHack)
One place where I think FOSS United could uniquely add value is in the “physical realization” of something. Somebody gets to a good design (could be an improvement on an existing one, could be a new one), but can’t fabricate it and bring it to life because of the cost. This is where a collaboration with Lion could help. Lion could help accelerate bringing this to life. @srinivasan_m probably has some valuable ideas here. But this should be a design that has a “go” from let’s say an evaluation panel of sorts. I mean - connecting an MCU to a sensor may not cut it The evaluation panel would look at various things such as - is it a new idea, is this an improvement, is this particular board worth funding to get to life ? This would then tie well with the grants program of FOSS United as a continuation path.
To answer your question about what the main goals of the FOSS Hack should be, I can share what I personally think though I’m not sure how well it fits within Foss United’s goals. For me, the primary goal should be to create a space for folks to come together and make really cool hardware projects. That’s what I’d love to see this hackathon enable.
As for who it should target, I agree with you, sir trying to make it fully beginner-friendly might be a bit too ambitious for the first edition. It could make sense to focus more on people who already have some hardware experience, so we can maintain quality and depth without overwhelming first-timers.
On the point about involving more communities, I completely agree. I mentioned Absurd mainly because that’s where I can personally help out, but we should absolutely bring in other groups like Makerville and similar hardware communities across India. One simple way to do that could be to put out a call to action inviting hardware collectives or makerspaces to express their interest in participating, similar to how DevRooms were organized. Maybe a simple Google Form or sheet where communities can propose their involvement would work well. Obviously, we will also explicitly reach out to folks who can help but may not be in our immediate orbit.
The evaluation panel would look at various things such as - is it a new idea, is this an improvement, is this particular board worth funding to get to life ? This would then tie well with the grants program of FOSS United as a continuation path.